Demolition of Nasla Tower

The Nasla Tower, a high-rise building that was located on Shahrah-e-Faisal – the main and busiest street of Karachi – will be remembered more in history for its demolition. Although there are other high-rise buildings in Karachi, it is being demolished on the orders of the judiciary and will soon be completely bulldozed.

Of course, it is painful to note the details of why a building – in which more than forty families once lived – was ordered to be demolished by the judiciary. Builders and social organizations among the occupants staged a massive protest to stop the demolition of the building in November last year, which was widely covered by the media.

However, the demolition of the building was started on a court order which is still going on successfully. Now, Residents and other social organizations are not being featured in any news on the media, which is noteworthy.

After seeing other machines, including laborers, working fast to bulldozed the structure, I realized that the demolition of this building is going to be a historic chapter in the country’s history. Law enforcement officials, engineers, and hundreds of skilled workers participating in the demolition are making history.

Despite the enforcement of Section 144 around the building, the organizers are working with all precautionary measures in mind. Employees working at the top floor were discussed in detail about the nature of work, hazards and weather conditions. None of the workers said they felt intimidated while working on a high-rise building.

Everyone had the feeling that they were working very carefully, taking all precautionary measures to demolish the building. One employee said that every worker must wear a helmet, gloves, socks and a jacket with boots. His supervisor, Sardar Khan, said that the workers who work in the corners of the tower must have a rod tied around their backs, which is firmly attached to their backs on one side and the bars inside the building on the other side.

It is commendable that no untoward incident has taken place till now, the staff continued their work even during cold and rainy seasons. Demolition work is in full swing in compliance with court orders and at present more than ten floors of Nasla Tower have been demolished.

The SBCA engineers said that they had not undertaken such an operation but it is a blessing of Allah that they are close to completion with mutual consultation and hardworking team. Sayar Khan, head of the company responsible for the demolition of the Nusla Tower, said he had been working on the demolition and construction work for a long time, even before he had demolished parks and apartments.

He said that he started the demolition of Nasla Tower as a challenge and it is by the grace of God that we are successfully carrying out the operation. During the ongoing demolition work of Nasla Tower, debris is being transported out of the city by dumpers and trucks. At the same time, traffic is flowing on Shahrah-e-Faisal and residents in the vicinity of the work have not yet faced any inconvenience.

This historic move has made it clear to builders and others that if they illegally build such high-rise buildings for their own interests in the present and future, they will be demolished like Nasla Tower. If they work in the best way without breaking the law keeping in view their legitimate profit, then their value will increase among the people and in future no other building will meet the fate like Nasla tower.